Anna!!!

If you're not an optimist, gtf out of government.

ICE agents raid South Shore apartments; Trump says Chicago could become military training ground ICE agents raided a South Shore apartment building overnight as the city braces for a possible military deployment.

“‘I was out there crying when I seen the little girl come around the corner, because they was bringing the kids down, too, had them zip tied to each other…He said, “f*** them kids.”’

[…]

’They had the Black people in one van, and the immigrants in another van.’” abc7chicago.com/post/ice-chi...

If you “misspent a couple of hundred billion dollars” on urban transit, that would mean like building an entirely new subway system to suboptimal standards, or having to do only half of the planned lines because of overruns. I WISH we could do this kind of “misspending” on things that matter.

Started at GIS all day to do some major problem solving so I have earned myself many treats

This generic acetaminophen had an Amtrak ACS-64, four Amfleet 1 cars, a Conrail EMD GP15-1, and some Conrail rolling stock in it. The problem is more serious than I thought.

Last night's declaration of a $100k fee on H-1B visas has been hugely disruptive to many Asian American families. Even with the update that it doesn't apply to current H-1B visa holders, it remains an attack on many already living in the US and had been counting on getting one to remain. 1/

Below, the response UCLA should give to the administration’s offer:

UCLA alum here:

Fuck no.

Some real Gilded Age stuff going on: Trump says Union Pacific's president urged him to send troops into Memphis, St. Louis, and Chicago, which are all important interchange points between UP and Norfolk Southern, the railroad UP is attempting to buy out

They also bring up their resentment at the city funding sidewalks, bike lanes, crosswalks, and bus lanes. Not relevant to single-stair at all, but it does give us a hint at what really drives this: an anti-urban culture war against the city they serve

Alfred Twu palette cleanse

Today I discovered that since 2022 Lombardy has developed a manual for standardized wayfinding for the entire region's transit, notably for bus stops, with a unified design across operators

www.regione.lombardia.it/wps/portal/i...

Julie Blaha’s seed art

Is your state auditor making seed-based advertising?

Why is the rent so damn high in LA? Simple economics: the demand for housing is extremely high and our housing supply is extremely low.

I have a lot of thoughts about the fact the median trans person is in their early 20s ranging from the silly (so that explains a lot of the terminally online memes) to the sad (all those on the 25+ side of the chart who didn't make it or are in hiding)...

The full Williams Institute trans population report has additional charts, including this one that highlights why protecting gender affirming care for trans youth is so important: over 1/4 of trans people in the US are age 13-17.

williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/u...

They also run a lot of parallel bus service - there's about three times as many buses through Hollywood as trains - some of which is only really necessary because transferring to the B is so painful with the low frequencies, so there's an argument that improving the subway could be cost neutral!

When you're onboard the B line it genuinely feels like the NYC subway - but only because they run 4 car trains at 12 minute headways, even at peak. I think it's because of long-standing rolling stock shortages, but Metro needs to treat it as more of a priority than they do right now

Toronto Transit Commission Ride Guide 2025 cover, in a Richard Scarry style w Totonto flourishes.

Alright some decision maker at the TTC deserves the Order of Canada for this.

the UCLA medical system is a huge part of LA's health infrastructure and this would make gender-affirming care unavailable for many, many people

this is a nightmare scenario and UCLA absolutely cannot capitulate here

Our healthcare is not up for negotiations.

UCLA Health suspending gender affirming care would be catastrophic for everyone in Los Angeles. I'm glad Sen Wiener stands with trans people, but the university must make it clear that they will follow the Unruh Act, not illegal threats from Trump.
(sorry for the reposts, made a mistake)

The state also needs to make it clear that, even if federal anti discrimination law is dead, the Unruh Act is not and that healthcare facilities in this state must follow our civil rights law

Trump administration seeking $1 billion settlement from UCLA | CNN Politics The Trump administration is seeking a $1 billion settlement from the University of California, Los Angeles, CNN has exclusively learned, marking the latest effort by the White House to shape higher ed...

In other mob boss fascist move, Trump is now trying to extort UCLA for $1B, force it to adopt his racist, transphobic, xenophobic policies & accept a “monitor” to control the university.

Hard no. UCLA is a California public university subject to CA law & built on CA values.

The answer is no.

If you cannot go to the bathroom at work, you cannot go to work. If you cannot go to the bathroom at school, you cannot go to school. This effectively bans transgender people from a broad swath of public life in the UK

Nothing— and I mean nothing— about this decision is more than the bare desire to harm.

August 1, 2025 Dr.Julio Frenk Chancellor Jniversity of California -Los Angeles 2147 Murphy Hall Los Angeles, CA 90095 Ref: Updated Notice of Award Suspensions Dr. Frenk: I write you with an update on our prior letter of July 30, 2025. This letter supplements our previous communication. Pursuant to 2 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) $ 200.339(c), and our previous communications, UCLA is officially notified that the National Science Foundation (NSF) is hereby suspending the attached list of grant awards to the University of California Los Angeles UCLA). UCLA should immediately cease all activities on these award numbers. The purpose of this action is to address concerns reported and observed in UCLA programs and ensure compliance with applicable Federal statutes and regulations, and the terms and conditions of these Federal awards. This action is effective 7/30/2025. Noncompliance: NSF has identified the following specific examples of noncompliance: . UCLA engages in racism, in the form of illegal race-based preferences in admissions practices; • UCLA fails to promote a research environment free of antisemitism and bias; . UCLA discriminates against and endangers women by allowing men in women's sports and private women-only spaces.

‼️ Trump's NSF is demanding UCLA violate CA law and ban trans women from college bathrooms, dorms, and sports, in order to restore illegally withheld NSF grants.

After other universities capitulated to these ridiculous demands, UCLA students and staff must ensure UCLA doesn't follow.

Link in🧵

Out of curiosity, are you able to share the address?

Tom Lehrer, Musical Satirist With a Dark Streak, Dies at 97

On top of all the laughter his work has brought several generations, there’s something really appealing in the way Tom Lehrer walked away from fame and success—and not in a reclusive way, he taught for decades!—culminating in him releasing all his work into the public domain at the end of his life.